Disable/Remove Win10 GWX.EXE files permently fix

METHOD 1: Hide “Get Windows 10” Icon in Taskbar:

This is the easiest way to get rid of the icon. You can right-click on the date/time in Taskbar system tray and select “Customize notification icons” option. It’ll open a new window. Now look for GWX (Get Windows 10) entry in the list and change its value to “Hide icon and notifications” using the drop-down box.
Apply the changes and it’ll hide the White Windows flag icon in Taskbar notification area.
PS: If the options (drop-down boxes) to change behaviors are grayed out or disabled, then uncheck “Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar” checkbox and it’ll allow you to customize icons behaviors.

METHOD 2: Kill “Get Windows 10 (GWX)” Process Using Task Manager:

If you don’t want to use the above mentioned method, you can kill the process related to “Get Windows 10” app and it’ll automatically remove the icon from Taskbar.
1. Right-click on Taskbar and select Task Manager option. It’ll open Task Manager. You can also directly launch Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys together.
2. Now go to Processes or Details tab and select GWX process and then click on “End Process” button. You can also right-click on GWX process and select “End Process” or “End Task” option. Or you can simply select GWX process and press Delete key.
It’ll kill GWX process and will also remove its icon from Taskbar notification area. If the icon is still visible, just hover mouse cursor over it and it’ll magically disappear.

METHOD 3: Disable “Get Windows 10” Using Registry Editor:

If you follow above mentioned method, it’ll remove the app and its icon temporarily. After some time or next logon, the app and its icon might come back. Following Registry tweak will disable “Get Windows 10” app and its Taskbar icon permanently:
1. Type regedit in RUN or Start search box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.
2. Now go to following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
3. Create a new key under Windows key and set its name as GWX
So the final key path would be:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\GWX
4. Now select GWX key and in right-side pane create a new DWORD DisableGWX and set its value to 1
5. Close Registry Editor and restart your computer to take effect.
It’ll permanently disable “Get Windows 10” app and will also remove its icon from Taskbar.
In future, if you decide to re-enable the app and its icon, simply change value of DisableGWX DWORD to 0 or delete the DWORD.
PS: If you are not familiar with registry editing tasks, we are also providing ready-made registry script to do the task automatically for your convenience. Just download following ZIP file, extract it and then run the given .REG files to enable/disable GWX app and its icon:
Registry Script to Disable “Get Windows 10” App and Icon in Windows